In addition to being nominated for British Columbia’s Red Cedar award

http://www.redcedaraward.ca/index.php?s=10,

Wanting Mor has also been nominated for Britain’s Muslim Writer’s Award!

http://muslimwritersawards.org.uk/node/1026

So now that means it’s received recognition in four different countries: Canada, the U.S., Singapore and now Britain! And it’s been nominated for and/or won about sixteen different awards! Masha Allah!

It’s an interesting list in Britain. I hadn’t heard of the other books that I’m up against.

Randa Abdel-Fattah’s book The Friendship Matchmaker looks interesting. And just being on a short list with her is a pretty high honour.

Anna Perera’s book Guantanamo Boy looks fascinating! Not surprising, I think Guantanamo Bay is one of the biggest blots on the American conscience around!

Then there’s a book by Irfan Master called A Beautiful Lie that reaches back to my roots. My mom was a little girl when the partition between India and Pakistan took place. My parents weren’t that affected in that they already lived in what would become Pakistan but still my mom told me she remembered seeing a dead body by her front door. Someone who’d been wounded in riots, I guess, and who’d expired practically on her doorstep.

And Naima bint Robert is a real tour de force in the British Muslim community! I think she’s the brains behind Sisters magazine.  http://www.sisters-magazine.com/

You’ve got to check it out! I’ve never seen a magazine that could be so STYLISH and so ISLAMIC at the same time! Vogue could take note!

Years ago I read a picture book written by Naima called The Swirling Hijaab. A simple whimsical story about a little girl playing with her mother’s head scarf! Brilliant!

It seems Naima’s written a book called Far From Home.

Oh what company to be among!

I’m hoping I can finagle a way to attend the award ceremony. Anna Perera told me that it’s to be held on Nov. 22nd at the Globe! I dared not ask, but I’ve got a feeling that it’s referring to THE Globe of Shakespeare reference. Can you imagine practically standing in the spot where Shakepeare put on performances of Hamlet; and Romeo & Juliet; and Macbeth???

I heard that last year’s judges for the competition were some pretty high ups!

They sent me this information about a month ago when they asked me to submit Wanting Mor for consideration:

The Muslim Writers Awards is the biggest competition of its kind in the world; our previous guests have included the likes of Jamie Byng (Publisher and MD, Canongate Books) Helen Fraser (then MD of Penguin Group UK), entrepreneur James Caan and entertainer Jermaine Jackson.  Our list of sponsors and supporters includes Arts Council England, Penguin Group, DIPNET, Booktrust, and the Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, to name a few.

 As always we’ll be beaming the event live into millions of homes around the world so it really is the perfect platform to let the world know about your writing.

 Previous winners have included Daniyal Mueenuddin (2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the 2010 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize) and Kamila Shamsie (shortlist of the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction and columnist for the Guardian).

 And now I’m up for it!

Whether I win or not, it’s just great that Muslims will finally be hearing about my work!

I have a pretty strong hunch that I’m actually better known within the non-Muslim community than the Muslim community.

Wouldn’t it be great for more Muslims to find out about me!